The present invention relates generally to machines or apparatus for automatically dispensing a liquid into a container and, more particularly, to such an apparatus which includes a blocking member which, when in an operative position, blocks access to the interior of the apparatus.
Apparatus or vending machines for automatically dispensing a liquid into a container or cup are generally well known in the art. Machines of this type are widely employed for dispensing coffee, tea, soup and other hot drinks and/or for dispensing cold drinks, such as carbonated soft drinks, juices or the like. With some vending machines, the liquid to be dispensed is premixed, such as premixed fruit drinks. With other such machines, the liquid to be dispensed is prepared during or just prior to dispensing, such as brewing a single cup of coffee and/or combining a concentrate or syrup with an appropriate amount of carbonated water. However, all such machines have a source of the liquid to be dispensed.
Most such machines also contain a supply of the containers or cups within which the liquid is dispensed for consumption by the machine user. The cups are generally delivered one at a time from the cup supply to a container or cup well having an opening sized for receiving and supporting a cup during the dispensing of the liquid. The cup well is also generally accessible from the outside of the machine to permit a user to remove the cup for consumption of the dispensed liquid.
Since the cup well serves as an interface conduit between the interior and the exterior of the vending or dispensing machine, it is desirable to close or otherwise block off the cup well in order to prevent a person from putting his or her hand into the machine through the cup well, possibly resulting in damage to the machine and/or injury to the person's hand. It is also desirable to have the ability to provide such a closure in order to prevent or at least diminish the possibility of small animals, insects or the like from gaining access to the interior of the machine, possibly resulting in damage to the machine, loss of the product being dispensed and an unsanitary condition.
Prior art machines have generally employed a sliding door mechanism, either on the exterior of the machine or on either end of the container well, or both, in order to prevent such unauthorized access to the interior of the machine. Such sliding door mechanisms generally include a door member formed of a plastic or metal material, which is fitted within a pair of either horizontally or vertically oriented tracks. The door member may be slid along the tracks by the action of a motor, a spring or by the user sliding or lifting the door.
While such door mechanisms are generally adequate for their intended purposes, the mechanisms are relatively complex and require frequent servicing. The servicing is often the result of the liquid and/or other materials building up on the door member and/or within the tracks and preventing the door member from properly sliding or from sliding at all, thereby defeating the purpose of the door mechanism. In the case of the prior art spring operated door mechanism, the spring sometimes becomes misadjusted, resulting in the door either opening or closing too promptly, thereby causing the product to spill and/or causing injury to the user.
The present invention overcomes many such problems associated with prior art dispensing machines apparatus by providing a blocking member or door which is pivotable between an operative condition in which the blocking member overlays the container well to block access to the interior of the machine housing, and an inoperative position in which the blocking member is pivoted away from the container well to permit the containers to be delivered to the well and the liquid to be dispensed into containers within the well in the normal manner. The axis about which the door pivots is located above the level at which the liquid enters the container well, so the possibility of the dispensed liquid detrimentally affecting the pivoting of the blocking member is greatly diminished.